I found this amazing 1975 reader's poll from Creem magazine (the cooler competitor to Rolling Stone) which includes this list of the most popular bands

TOP TWENTY GROUPS

1. Rolling Stones
2. Led Zeppelin
3. The Who
4. Aerosmith
5. KISS
6. Bad Company
7. Roxy Music
8. Queen
9. Elton John
10. Pink Floyd
11. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
12. Black Sabbath
13. Rod Stewart & the Faces
14. David Bowie
15. Eagles
16. Sparks
17. Jefferson Starship
18. The Tubes
19. Alice Cooper
20. Yes

...and this list of the top ten fads of the year.

FAD OF THE YEAR

1. Disco
2. Bruce Springsteen
3. Trying to kill the President
4. Jaws
5. The Tubes
6. Drinking
7. Sex
8. Reggae
9. Earth Shoes
10. Short Hair

I emboldened the most amusing things. The Tubes are the only thing that seems to have sunk without a trace. They were a satirical rock band who's live shows incorporated performance art. For a brief time they were banned from performing in the UK. I'm listening to their first album right now - it's really good.